Pemphigus Vulgaris: More Than Just a Skin Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Pemphigus is a group of autoimmune diseases of the skin and mucous membranes that is characterized by multiple bullae formation. It is caused by autoantibodies directed against the cell surface of keratinocytes, resulting in the loss of cell-cell adhesion of keratinocytes. This disease can be very debilitating and difficult to treat if large surface areas are involved. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of a complex case of pemphigus vulgaris in a 24-year-old man who develop partial-thickness skin lesions distributed throughout the entire body with a total body surface of 80% short after an episode of strep throat treated with amoxicillin. RESULTS: The patient had a complicated hospital course in which the standard treatment of the disease led to adverse effects that were successfully managed at our busy burn center. CONCLUSIONS: Pemphigus vulgaris is a complex skin disease in which treatment techniques carry their risk and must be tailored to the patient's specific needs. Treatment of this conditions at a burn center would be beneficial as demonstrated with conditions like Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Roles of microRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs Encoded by Parasitic Helminths in Human Carcinogenesis.

Infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites can lead to cancer development. Infection with the helminthic parasite Schistosoma haematobium can cause cancer of the urinary bladder in humans, and infection with the parasites Clonorchis sinensis and Opisthorchis viverrini can promote cholangiocarcinoma. These three pathogens have been categorized as "group 1: carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Additionally, the parasite Schistosoma japonicum has been associated with liver and colorectal cancer and classified as "group 2B: possibly carcinogenic to humans". These parasites express regulatory non-coding RNAs as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which modulate genic expression in different biological processes. In this review, we discuss the potential roles of miRNAS and lncRNAs encoded by helminthic parasites that are classified by the IARC as carcinogenic and possibly carcinogenic to humans. The miRNAs of these parasites may be involved in carcinogenesis by modulating the biological functions of the pathogen and the host and by altering microenvironments prone to tumor growth. miRNAs were identified in different host fluids. Additionally, some miRNAs showed direct antitumoral effects. Together, these miRNAs show potential for use in future therapeutic and diagnostic applications. LncRNAs have been less studied in these parasites, and their biological effects in the parasite-host interaction are largely unknown.

Is periodontal disease a risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness?

Periodontal disease (PD) comprises a group of diseases involving inflammatory aspects of the host and dysbiotic events that affect periodontal tissues and could have systemic implications. Diverse factors and comorbidities have been closely associated with PD such as diabetes, obesity, aging, hypertension, and so on; although, underlying mechanisms or causal associations have not been established completely. Interestingly, these same factors have been widely associated with progression or severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an illness caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Since inflammatory and dysbiotic factors as well as comorbidities affect systemic health, it is possible that periodontal status indicates the risk of complication of COVID-19. However, assessment of oral health history including periodontal status in COVID-19 patients has not been reported. Knowing PD is associated with severe COVID-19 could help identify risk groups and establish pertinent recommendations.

Identification of a Bacillus thuringiensis Surface Layer Protein with Cytotoxic Activity against MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells.

In this work, we isolated a surface layer protein (SLP) from a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strain to evaluate it cytotoxic effects against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. AP11 was selected from a group of Bt strains using SLP oligonucleotides developed from Bacillus conserved regions. The AP11 strain was grown in Luria Bertani medium until the late exponential phase; an 86 kDa protein was extracted using 5 M LiCl and identified by liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry. It corresponded to a multispecies SLP highly similar to previously described SLPs in Bt. The MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells LC50 was obtained using 0.25 µg/ml of the isolated SLP. HaCat non-cancerous cells presented 90% survival using the same protein concentration. Our data suggest that SLP cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 could be induced by an interaction with the CDH11 cell membrane receptor.

Componentes esqueléticos de la maclusión clase III en dentición mixta / Skeletal components of malocclusion class III in mixed dentition

Con el fin de describir los patrones esqueléticos para la maclusión clase III se tomó una muestra de 72 pacientes entre 6 y 12 años de las clínicas odontológicas de la Universidad El Bosque y el CIEO; con padres y abuelos Colombianos, características raciales de mestizos, sin historia de hábitos orales, ni patologías craneofaciales y sin antecedentes de tratamientos de ortodonciau ortopedia. Se les tomó una radiografía de perfil y se estudiaron 24 variables cefalométricas mediante los análisis de Harvord, Steiner, Mc Namara y Downs. Éstas fueron comparadas con un patrón de normalidad (clase I) de una muestra representativa para Santafé de Bogotá. Las variables que presentaron mayores diferencias significativas en cuanto a sexo fueron: longitud maxilar, diferencia maxilo-mandibular y altura facial inferior "Harvord", ángulos interincisal y goniaco "Steiner" y altura facial inferior "Mc Namara". Se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas según la edad para las siguientes variables: longitud maxilar, mandibular y diferencia maxilo-mandibular "Harvord", SNB "Steiner", longitud mandibular y diferencia maxilo-mandibular "McNamara" y ángulo de la converjidad "Downs". Los sujetos de maloclusión clase III presentan una combinación de mandíbula normal con un maxilar normal en un 20.4, retrusión maxilar y protrusión mandibular en un 23.6 y 19 con retrusión mandibular y maxilar.